Astronauts Get a Sneak Peek at 'The Martian'

Astronauts on the International Space Station decided to tempt fate this weekend. Crew members got an early look at the upcoming movie “The Martian,” starring Matt Damon, about an astronaut getting stuck on Mars.

The movie doesn’t hit theaters until October in the U.S., but the space explorers were given the sneak preview, as they had hoped to. Instead of freaking out — my course of action were I witnessing an astronaut’s impending demise while I myself floated in space — they seemed to find it good inspiration for their own work.

https://twitter.com/astro_kjell/status/645619673753477120

The astronauts have a habit of watching space disaster flicks. As noted by Mashable, back in April they screened “Gravity,” the Sandra Bullock and George Clooney movie about — once again — explorers stuck in space. You’d think this would be like choosing “Final Destination” as your in-flight entertainment, but no.

https://twitter.com/StationCDRKelly/status/592064802014507008/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

This weekend, they also entertained themselves with action a little closer to home: The football games. One snapped space shots of NFL stadiums, while others showed off their team gear.

https://twitter.com/astro_kjell/status/645328717707784192

https://twitter.com/StationCDRKelly/status/645637315491074048

Movies may pass the time, but the real entertainment on board the space station the last few days was found just by looking out the windows. The astronauts tweeted stunning photos of the Northern Lights from their perch.

https://twitter.com/StationCDRKelly/status/645564466424381441

https://twitter.com/astro_kjell/status/645693022781308928

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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